Black Diamond
by chiharu-tanaka
Summary: AU - set in New York City. 30 days of writing challenge @ tumblr. Namine, 22, meets an affluent man named Riku who wishes to employ her for her artistic skills. But there's more to him than meets the eye, and she has secrets she keeps as well. Namiku; HIATUS
1. beginning

**BLACK DIAMOND**

**30 days of writing challenge by Chiharu Tanaka**

* * *

_01 Beginning_

* * *

Naminé Castell was at a loss of words. An internship program? Did such things even exist for a specialized work like hers? Her dainty fingers clutched the letter she had just received from the mail. Still - if someone needed her expertise, why shouldn't she try it out? She would gain experience, and better yet, a paying job - and that would solve her piling credit card bills and outstanding rent.

So that was how she ended up in front of the door of apartment number 531 at the prestigious Harrington Avenue Apartments located at the upper east side of New York. Her face was flushed from the cold winter outside as she walked through the lobby to the reception counter with a black toolbox of sorts in her hand. Her ordinary clothes - a simple white trench-coat which she left at the counter, a blue turtleneck sweater, skinny jeans and a pair of well-worn boots - seemed out of place in this posh building.

She took in a deep breath - there was no turning back now - and pressed the doorbell. The weight of the box - which contained all the tools she needed for this internship - felt reassuring in her hands. Moments later, a voice came through the intercom - she knew whoever was inside could see her fidgety and nervous like this. Slapping herself mentally, she knew she should've picked out better clothes for an interview!

But in a profession such as hers, do outward appearances even matter? She sighed. _The irony._

"Yes?"

The voice was male. Crap, she did not expect this - a surge of adrenaline pumped through her veins like lightning as her already thundering heartbeat quickened its pace. What the hell would a _man_ want with her services? The weirdos these days, she mused.

"M...My name is Naminé Castell," she spoke to the little white box. "I'm...here for the internship interview."

Silence, and a beeping sound later, she heard the door unlock. "Come in, Miss Castell," said the male voice.

Naminé hesitated. What are the odds that her interview was at an apartment? And there was at least one man inside. Her blood ran cold - she had read of horrible news of what happened to women like her who did a few mistakes and ended up raped and murdered. Her knuckles were already white from gripping the toolbox's handle too tightly.

Sensing her unease, a light chuckle came from the speaker. "Okay, this must look really weird," he said. "Just stay there, Miss Castell - I'll come outside and we can talk at the cafe downstairs."

She felt reassured by this - but she was not out of the water just yet. If this was a legitimate interview, then she had to pass it before scoring her ticket to monthly paychecks. The carpet suddenly looked very interesting, until she saw a pair of shoes and her head shot up.

She must have sucked in her breath a little too loudly, because a smirk spread across the man's face. He was about a foot taller than her, with a handsome face comparable to that of models and layered silver hair falling over his eyes and shoulders. He was well-built and was proud of it - dressed in a fitting long-sleeved black button-up shirt and a pair of straight-cut jeans. She couldn't help but notice that the shirt did well to show off his toned biceps and chest.

"I'm glad you could make it," he said with a smile, extending a hand. "Name's Riku Arisato."

She had to take a second to pull herself together, before straightening her posture and accepting his hand. She felt the grip of his fingers against her own - firm, exuding with confidence. "The...the pleasure is mine, Mr. Arisato."

"No need for formalities. Just call me Riku. Can I call you Naminé?"

"O...Okay."

"Naminé...that's a pretty name," he said, ushering her to move towards the elevator. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

_Mother always warned me about sweet talking men..._

"Are you working for a modelling agency?" asked Naminé, out of curiosity. If this man was her future boss, she had to know something about him. Other than the fact that he appeared a tad bit metrosexual and that he smelled strongly of Hugo Boss perfume.

"No, not exactly."

"Then why...?"

"There, now, no need to be so anxious. Let's talk it over lunch; my treat," he said as the elevator arrived with the chime of a bell. Another chuckle escaped his lips. "You must've been so nervous that you added too much blush."

The colour of her cheeks darkened. _No, you're mistaken!_

Naminé Castell, age 22, was a semi-professional make-up artist and costume designer who graduated top of her class in one of the best art schools in New York. She did _not_ apply too much blush - and her brain was already churning out a million theories of why this man needed her ability to apply make up as the elevator doors closed.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

A/n: I hope you enjoyed it so far. I'll be doing a **daily update** (as daily as I can because posting here is a bit more tough than posting on tumblr). If you wanna catch the updates on tumblr instead, follow me at chiharufanfics dot tumblr dot com.


	2. accusation

**BLACK DIAMOND**

**30 days of writing by Chiharu Tanaka**

* * *

_02 accusation._

_Previously on Black Diamond: Naminé is sought after for an internship by a man named Riku for her make-up skills._

* * *

"Is this an interview?"

They had just finished lunch at the posh-looking cafe at the Harrington Apartments when Naminé's question popped up. Riku smirked before casually sipping on his coffee. She appeared curious, perplexed even - at the whole situation.

"You can call it that if you want to. You see, we sent you the internship letter because we already wanted you from the very beginning."

Naminé raised an eyebrow - apparently his statement just gave her another million set of questions. "I guess I should explain. You see, Naminé, I own Dawn Modelling Agency, but we're still a pretty small company as of now. And since you're not a newbie yourself to the world of fashion, we need make-up artists just as much as we need models. Well, we need more models, but I think you get what I mean."

"But how did you find me?"

"The same way engineering companies find their interns in universities," he explained simply. Convinced, Naminé continued the conversation by discussing the terms of the internship. Apparently, not only do they do make-up for models, but also clients consisting of the rich and famous. As her first task, she had to visit the wife of an affluent CEO in the Big Apple.

"Madam Ursula is a good friend of mine," said Riku. "She also adores new talent, and since my other staff are busy, I think it'd be the perfect opportunity to test out your capabilities. Are you up for it?"

Naminé nodded. Anything's better than sitting around at home doing nothing.

"Great. I'll pick you up at six p.m. tonight, and then we'll make our way to Broadway."

"Broadway?"

"I forgot to mention that one bit - she's a splendid singer."

xoxoxox

It wasn't until precisely six in the evening did she see him again, at the lobby of her apartment building. Of course he knew where she lived, but they had to be a really small company if the owner himself had to come get her. She sat, albeit a little uncomfortably, in the passenger seat of Riku's top-of-the-line Mercedes sedan, and he did most of the talking over the soothing piano music playing in his car.

'I never guessed him to be a piano fan,' she mused, and half an hour later, they pulled up into the parking lot of a grand theatre situated in Broadway. He led her upstairs and through a series of corridors where people were going up and down, as busy as ants, for the night's gala performance.

Ursula, the star herself, was an overweight - perhaps obese - lady in her 50s, dressed in an elegant black gown filled with Swarovski crystals. Her dark hair was pulled back into a complicated bun, and Naminé noticed she had barely any wrinkles on her face. Botox, she deducted, before putting on her sweetest smile.

"Ursula," said Riku with a devillishly handsome grin, approaching the woman.

She looked irritated when Naminé first saw her, but her expression immediately changed to one of relief and delight as she saw him. "Riku!" she exclaimed in return, and they gave each other what Naminé could describe as a 'posh hug' - where two rich people hug each other and give air kisses. Well, Riku didn't do the air kiss bit, but took her hand to plant a gentlemanly kiss on it. The rings on her fingers were studded with all sorts of jewels.

"I'm sorry we're late," he said. "New York traffic at it's worst."

"That's quite alright, darling," said Ursula with a leering smile - what exactly was her relationship to Riku, the blonde wondered. "Is your make-up artist here?"

"Yes, she is. C'mon, Naminé, I'd like to introduce you."

Naminé approached the woman rather warily - there was something about the way her dark eyes twinkled and narrowed when she gave Naminé a top to toe glance. "Ursula, this is Naminé; she's the new intern at my company. Naminé, this is Ursula, one of the greatest singers Broadway has ever seen."

Ursula chuckled, her deep voice resonating as she slapped Riku on the arm. "You tease," she chided. "It's nice to meet you, young lady. I hope your talents shine well under Riku's supervision."

"Thank you, madam," said Naminé, surprised at her remark.

"So I'll leave you ladies to it, then?"

They nodded, and Riku soon took his leave. Naminé was left with the diva songstress, but surprisingly she didn't say much as Naminé applied make-up on her face. When she was done, Ursula was impressed with her results - smokey, mysterious eyes complimented with a shocking red lipstick that was just right for her pale skin tone.

"Riku was right, you do have some talent," said Ursula. "But don't go off thinking you're so great just yet - otherwise you'll never get better."

Now she was truly surprised - the woman was giving her words of wisdom. "Thank you," she said. She could say nothing more to the diva as the event coordinator came in and whisked her away - they had ten minutes left before the first song began, and Naminé put away her things to perhaps try and catch the performance from the sidelines.

She ended up sitting between a couple of sound-proof panelled walls draped with black curtains, hidden in the shadows as she watched the songstress at her best. 'I must admit, I've read her completely wrong,' she thought as she tapped her make-up box sitting next to her. 'Maybe not all the rich people are as bad as they seem on TV.'

Naminé was called in after the second song to redo Ursula's makeup to fit the new dress that she changed into. In total, that night she had done her make-up three times, and watched the final performance from backstage. When the performance was over, the entire theatre echoed with thunderous applause and Naminé felt amazed at her talent.

But the night was not over yet.

A loud, shrill scream came from Ursula's dressing room just as Naminé was about to leave the backstage area to try and call her new boss. "My jewels!" Ursula screamed as she ran out onto the backstage area, looking frantic and suspicious towards all the staff members who was looking at her. "Someone here stole my jewels!"

The event coordinator came over to calm her down, and soon they narrowed down the number of people who had accessed Ursula's dressing room that night - which were her dress coordinator, the event coordinator herself, Ursula's bodyguard and Naminé.

Everything was still under control, until she let them search her make-up box.

"My jewels!" Ursula screamed as they lifted the last layer of her box. Naminé gasped; how the hell did an array of expensive jewellery - diamond rings, gold bracelets, jewelled necklaces and studded earrings - end up in her box of all places?! She had her box with her this whole time!

"You!" the diva pointed a finger at her. "How dare you, you…thief!"

"This must be a mistake, I didn't…"

"Her jewels are in your make-up box, and you dare to deny that you did it?!" the event coordinator retaliated. All the eyes of the production staff were on her now, and one of them was already on the phone and calling the police.

Naminé's heart dropped into her stomach. How did this happen?!

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

A/n: Yes, this is Ursula from The Little Mermaid...sort of a mix of her human form and sea-witch form. Review please?

P.S. I haven't beta-ed this story because it's a pet project; will do so in time.


	3. restless

**BLACK DIAMOND**

**30 days of writing challenge by Chiharu Tanaka**

_A/n: Thank you for your support! Enjoy!_

* * *

_**03 restless**_

* * *

Her mind was blank; the world as she knew it crumbling into darkness around her. This was it - this was the end of her career, her short 22 years of life - she couldn't afford a lawyer so _of course_ she's going to prison, and she was going to rot miserably there for God knows how long.

The sound of an alarm startled her and pulled her back into the real world; and then the room was swallowed by instant darkness.

"Hey, what happened to the lights?" somebody shouted.

"Forget that - nobody move! Frank, check the fuse box."

Naminé was frozen in her spot when she felt a hand on her arm, slowly pulling her away from the scene. By the time she realised where she was going, she saw the lights of the emergency exit glowing a dim green overhead, and the rest of the crew yelling in the darkness trying to look for her.

"Let's go - we gotta run."

That voice - she realised with a gasp, as the door opened and she saw the silhouette of Riku being illuminated by the street lamps outside; and before she knew it they broke into a run - heading straight for the car park where he had left his car. He had been holding her make-up box and tossed it in the backseat; in under five seconds flat he was already seated and the engines started. They sped out of the theatre parking lot before the cast even found the emergency exit.

Naminé said nothing as Riku expertly drove the car through New York's insane traffic, and once they were out of the hustle and bustle of the metropolis, he drove to a quiet pier and stopped the car - they were a considerable distance from Broadway now.

He breathed out a sigh of relief, but Naminé wasn't glad just yet.

"You!" she turned to him, her knuckles white from gripping so hard, her fingernails making moon-shaped indentations in her palms. "You're the thief!"

"I guess the jig is up," he said casually, lifting his arms up and resting them behind his head.

"That's it?!" she yelled at him, with an uncontrollable urge to strange his neck. "That's all you can say to me?! After you made me a suspect of a theft of a high-profile celebrity, and you...you helped me escape for God's sake!"

"What, did you want me to leave you in there?"

"No!" she exclaimed. "Look, don't try to change the subject. You're not really an owner of a modelling agency, are you?" The look on his face was answer enough, as his furrowed eyebrows relaxed and his lips formed a straight line. "Who are you...and what do you really want from me? What do you get by framing me for your crime?"

Riku turned away from her, looking out at the bay and letting out a sigh. "You're pretty quick to catch on, but unluckily for you, you didn't figure it out sooner. Yeah, I stole those jewels and placed them in your box while you were in the ladies' - it was a piece of cake."

"I thought you were friends with Ursula."

"I am. Well, sort of. It's handy to have rich friends if you're a thief."

Naminé was at a loss of words. There was no remorse, no guilt in his words. He just stole probably hundreds of thousands worth of diamonds, rubies and sapphires from a woman whose hand he just kissed mere hours ago! Then again, he just as easily framed a woman he only met that morning.

Then it triggered her - all the news reports she had been reading over the past year or two; the theft of a wealthy family's jewel vault last November in Las Vegas; the clearing of an entire jewel display collection at Washington in March; and the missing Golden Eye Diamond - a valuable, intense yellow, large cut diamond, in September. She remembered while fixing Ursula's mascara, the woman had boasted about her diamond necklace - apparently a gift worth millions from her husband.

"Wait a minute...you're...you're the Twilight Jewel Thief!" she said, going by his nickname as given by the media.

"Very good," he said as he smirked. "You are a smart girl."

Her eyes wavered as she looked into his aquamarine eyes - steadfast and showing no signs of fear whatsoever. She felt for the handle of the car door - it was unlocked - before reaching into her pocket to locate her keys with her right hand.

Riku didn't see it coming - in a split second Naminé pulled out her pepper spray and nebulised the burning mist over his eyes. Just as quickly she pushed the door open and got herself away from the car. She left the damn box behind - she ran as fast as her legs could take her, and she didn't dare to look back.

She slowed down after several minutes, looking over her shoulder to make sure he did not follow her either by foot or by car. Satisfied, she leaned against the railing of the pier, breathing heavily, combing the stray locks of her blond hair away from her face. It was cold that night, she realised, as she began to tremble against the steel railing.

Or was she afraid of what was going to happen to her?

Falling to her knees, she covered her face with one hand - sobbing - and was still holding onto the railing with the other. She was alone in that world; she had always been alone - and for the first time she truly wanted someone to be there with her. It didn't matter who, even the superficial friends she had at college would do. Anyone would do.

And it was amidst her loud sobs that she never noticed someone coming from behind her, and with a jab to the back of her neck she fell unconscious.

xoxoxoxoxox

When she came to, it was already morning. The light streamed through the windows, and Naminé could barely make out a figure standing by the windows. "You're awake," he said, and her senses kicked in.

She sat up, but realised that her wrists were bound. They ached, too - how long had she been sleeping like that? At least she was fully clothed, but her mouth was gagged by a handkerchief which made it impossible for her to scream.

"I really don't want to keep you like this," said Riku, dressed in a turtleneck sweater (and Naminé thanked God that _he_ was clothed as well), sitting on the edge of the large king-sized bed. "If you promise me you won't scream, I'll take that cloth off your mouth."

Naminé felt her chest heaving up and down in anger. 'He's got his damn jewels, what the hell does he want with me?!' her mind screamed as she struggled against her restraints.

"I don't want to hurt you, Naminé."

Her blue eyes narrowed at him. She was afraid, and angry, at the same time - if it was even possible. "I know you're scared," he said. "But I need you to cooperate with me. You're smart, so you know that with the jewels found in your box and so many witnesses, you're going to become the prime suspect. And you probably guessed that a man capable of emptying vaults in under ten minutes would probably disappear and leave you behind."

His eyes were on her now, and she gulped. "But I _chose_ you, Naminé. I need your help, and if you're willing to cooperate with me, I'll clear your name. Not now - but by the end of Spring, I promise I will clear your name."

'Why?' was all the question expressed through her eyes. But she was already at a dead end - the evidence was planted in her hands, and with her nearly penniless background and list of debts - she would definitely be found guilty in a trial. If the man who betrayed her could promise her such a thing, what more did she have to lose? 'What is it that I have that you need so badly?'

She stayed still and gave a slow nod. Taking that as a sign of peace, he leaned towards her to untie the knot behind her head. She smelled of lilies, he noticed; but he quickly got his thoughts away from straying towards _that_ direction.

"If you don't want to get into any more trouble than you're already in, you'll do as I say. Police officers will be coming around at any moment..."

The doorbell rang, and he let out a curse under his breath. "Damn, they're here," he muttered, because who else would be coming to his apartment at eight a.m. on a Saturday? He lifted Naminé off the bed in one swoop, causing her to squeal a bit and set her to stand on the floor. "Shh. Now c'mon," he said urgently, looking slightly anxious.

She followed him to a decorated wall with intricate carvings which looked like it was from South America, pulled a small handle by the carving and opened it. The opening was big enough for a person to fit through, and he gently pushed her inside. "Keep quiet, no matter what," he said, before closing the fake wall on her.

Naminé kept still - but felt the familiar brush of her make-up box by her left foot, as well as her coat and scarf against her left arm. She could also feel the knob of a vault against her right arm and she knew this was where he hid his stolen items.

She could hear the muffled sounds of Riku talking to the officers, and felt her heartbeat escalate even further when she heard footsteps coming closer to her hiding spot. Covering her nose and mouth, she tried to keep silent as the footsteps were right next to her.

"I don't see anything suspicious. I'm sorry, Mr. Valentine, for bothering you at a time like this."

Riku was cool, giving them a nonchalant shrug. "Well a cop's gotta do what a cop's gotta do. I'm sorry for what happened with Ursula, though. I hope you get to the bottom of this soon."

Naminé rolled her eyes. 'Yeah, right.'

A few minutes later, Riku opened the fake wall with a relieved smile on his face. Maybe _now_ he could explain everything that's been muddled in her mind. "Now, let's get that off your wrists, shall we?"

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

A/n: Review, please! It would make me very happy.


	4. snowflake

**BLACK DIAMOND**

**A 30 days of writing challenge by Chiharu Tanaka**

* * *

_04 snowflake._

* * *

"What do you want from me?"

Naminé was determined not to cry again. It was bad enough she was trapped in this ridiculously horrible situation - she was not going to act like a weak damsel in distress in front of the villain of this tale. Her wrists were sore, and she rubbed it while shooting him a cold glare with her piercing blue eyes.

'Yikes,' Riku mused. 'She is not happy at all. Then again she's pretty cute when she's mad.'

"Like I said yesterday, I need you because of your expertise. But that's not the only reason I chose you. The most important fact was that you're unattached. You're an orphan, you live alone, and you're some sort of a lone ranger all throughout school. You don't really have close friends either."

Naminé's eyes twitched. Her being an orphan and living alone was rather obvious to most people. But to know that she didn't have a best friend…

"How did you know that?"

"Easy. I did a little research and some interviewing…"

"You mean you stalked me."

Riku laughed. "Stalk is such a strong word. I prefer reconnaissance. I was looking for a make-up artist who can do costumes as well, yet has no strings attached - and here you are."

She was silent for a while, eyebrows furrowed as she was deep in thought. "What do you want me to do?"

"Wow, you're getting down on the deal quickly. I like that," he replied. "I need you to do what you do best - applying make-up and creating costumes. In my line of work, we need disguises, and you're just the girl I need."

"What if I refuse, and hand you over to the police?"

Riku shrugged. "Then I'm afraid I'll have to kill you."

The expression of her face changed as her eyes widened in fear, looking left and right for escape routes. There's the front door - but she had to run past him and would probably get blocked if she tried. There was the window - but she was sure they were at least 20 storeys up from the ground, and it was already snowing outside. And she didn't have enough time to explore the house to know where the emergency exit was.

The tension was cut by a laugh from Riku. "Oh God, you should've seen your face!" he exclaimed between laughs. This made her fume silently - she swore steam poured out of her ears - but that feeling of fear did not dissipate just yet. "Of course I'm not going to kill you. But if you decide to do that, I'll just escape."

"But I've seen your face."

"Plastic surgery. I won't like it, but it can be done."

Naminé sighed. This man was enigmatic, that she was sure of. He wasn't like the other criminals portrayed on television. Besides the fact that he was a thief and likely a conman as well, he was…rather ordinary. "How can you be sure that you'll be able to clear my name?"

"I have money," he said coolly. "If I have that, I can clear your name."

'He has a point,' she mused. "And how do you expect me to believe you'll do that when you've already dragged me down this far?"

He looked at her, his blue-green eyes turning serious. "You want collateral, fine," he said while removing a watch from his right wrist. "You can have my watch. It's not pricey, but I'll have you know that time is the most important thing to a thief."

She reached out to accept the watch - and as she observed it she noticed that it had a few scratches here and there - it was well used; but it was just an ordinary men's watch with leather straps; surely a man who stole millions of dollars worth of jewels could afford something better?

'No…this watch probably has some sort of sentimental worth to him.'

"And, as added incentive, you'll not only walk out of this deal with no strings attached, but you'll walk out of it with a pay. I'll be paying you 50,000 dollars for every month you stick with me."

'50,000 dollars?! He must be insane! But then again, he probably does have that much money.'

"So, how about it, huh? You've got nothing more to lose, and possibly only more to gain."

'But what if you get caught?' the questioned pierced into her train of thoughts. 'It's a possibility - but I shouldn't ask him that, no matter how true it may be. He might just flip and go all psycho on me.'

"Can you…can you give me a minute?"

"Sure. You've already got my watch. If you agree, I'll give you half your salary this month."

'Not like that's going to be any use right now since I can't return to my apartment,' she thought irritably, before he walked away. Holding onto the watch, she closed her eyes to finally do some thinking in a calm state. "Wait," she said, knowing he was still within hearing distance. "Where am I going to stay now that I'm a fugitive?"

"I thought that's pretty obvious," she heard him from the living room. "You're going to be staying with me, of course."

Naminé gulped. 'Oh God.'

* * *

_To be continued!_

_Updates may be slow in the coming week - I have class 8 am - 6 pm all week next week and I'm screaming in horror. Will probably upload to slower though._


	5. haze

**BLACK DIAMOND**

**A 30 days of writing challenge by Chiharu Tanaka**

* * *

_05 haze._

* * *

Naminé fiddled with the ends of her hair. To think, merely 36 hours ago, she had been sitting in her relatively empty apartment, looking down at the internship letter that looked so damn real. Now, she was sitting next to one of the most wanted thieves in the U.S., browsing through an in-flight magazine at a window seat calmly as nothing had happened.

Of course, deep down inside there was a hurricane threatening to just blow her up any second.

How he got her a fake ID and passport - she did not want to ask, but after snapping a passport photo of her in a straight-haired, shoulder-length red wig, he returned a few hours later with her new identity: Kairi Ushiromiya. Okay - her mother was half-Asian so perhaps she could pull off the Eurasian look as he did.

She was so nervous when she got to the security check, but having Riku stand in the other line was slightly reassuring. He had planned it before they left his apartment that afternoon - he would leave the apartment first in case police were still watching him, and she would leave half an hour later. They would not speak a word to each other, and make for the security checkpoint at exactly forty-five minutes before the departure time.

To make her seem even more believable as a tourist, she had her own trolley luggage bag filled with brand new clothes - she was forced to buy them with the money she got from him. And she really was forced to buy them - he specifically pressed on the fact that as 'Kairi', she had to dress and look as differently from her normal self as possible.

Running from the law - there was no other reason she would be dressed in a pink dress, leather high-heeled boots with black leggings and black trench-coat.

"Stop fidgeting," Riku whispered, even as they were thousands of feet in the air.

"I can't," she replied. "I'm anxious. Of all the places, why are we flying to Amsterdam?"

"Well, we need to cool off, don't we? And disappear from the radar while we're at it. Just relax, it's making me uneasy seeing you like this."

They were seated at the business class - which was why Naminé had to dress like that in the first place. "Well pardon me," she groaned. "While I've never sat in such a huge chair in-flight, I can't believe you made me a fake identity…"

He hushed her as a stewardess passed by, and he stopped her to ask for a glass of champagne. "What about you?" he asked, turning to Naminé.

"I'll…just have tea, thanks."

The stewardess left, and she sat anxiously while waiting for her cup of tea - which usually calmed her down - flipping the magazine again when she heard Riku say, "For all that's worth, the dress looks good on you."

A blush came across her cheeks. It wasn't like she was never complimented before - she had a few boys confess to her throughout high school and college - but to have this good-looking man say that felt like a real compliment.

"I'd definitely pick you up at a bar, that's for sure."

Or maybe he just wanted that one thing.

Naminé scoffed with an indignant 'humph' before burying her nose back into the magazine, making a mental note to buy a taser in case he decided to try anything funny on her. She wouldn't feel any remorse anyway - he was a criminal - giving him a jolt might do the world some good.

* * *

_To be continued_

_A/n: 'Ushiromiya' is a surname taken from Umineko no Naku Koro Ni (When the Seagulls Cry) - I love that anime and I'm just randomly making a headcanon that Battler and Beatrice got married, and their child would look something like Kairi._


	6. flame

**BLACK DIAMOND**

**A 30 days of writing challenge by Chiharu Tanaka**

* * *

_06 flame_

* * *

They had arrived in Amsterdam the next day, and settled in at a suite at a five star hotel. Riku was insistent on having one room and she couldn't argue because she only brought U.S. dollars. She cursed his rushed timing - she was unable to visit the money changer at all. But thankfully he was considerate enough to get a suite with two separate bedrooms.

She took off her red-haired wig as soon as she got to her room. It didn't matter if she was red-haired or not now that she was in the heart of Netherlands. Becoming somebody she was not was one thing, but going in disguise was another story altogether.

After a shower, she got dressed into her usual clothes (not the 'Kairi' ones she was forced to buy) and stepped out into the common area of the suite. She sat down on the couch to turn on the television. To her dismay, most of the channels were in Dutch - except CNN, which thankfully was in English. She was glad that there wasn't any 'breaking news' about Ursula's jewel theft and her disappearance on CNN, but she was pretty sure Riku was up to no good.

She knew this because she picked up a brochure of Amsterdam at the airport - although by prior knowledge she knew Amsterdam to be a marijuana addict's heaven and a place full of art museums; she was surprised to find out that it was also one of the world's centre for diamonds back in the day - and they housed several valuable diamonds, including the Coster Diamonds on the Museum Square.

This was not good at all. A jewel thief just flew in from America, for goodness sake - to the one place where diamonds are abundant and probably very guarded.

She took the brochure and flipped through it again - just to check if there were any conventions or special displays of diamonds around Amsterdam in the near future. While she was engrossed in reading, she failed to notice Riku coming from behind her, and it wasn't until she felt something drip on her shoulder that she realised his presence.

Sharply, she turned around to face him and almost fell off the sofa. His hair was wet, covered in a short towel - but more importantly he was half-naked, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. She averted her eyes away from him - but what was seen cannot be unseen - she cursed him for having such a body that made her blush like a tomato.

"What're you reading?" he asked.

"It's just a brochure. Thought I'd go sightseeing," she said, standing up.

He picked up the book from the couch and flipped through it, smirking as he noticed that she wasn't looking his way and her cheeks were as red as that wig he bought for her. She was such a strange person sometimes - all the eligible, beautiful women he had met either tried to get him to kiss her and those who do not necessarily fall under that category would just stare at him.

"That's a good idea, actually. I thought of going sightseeing with you."

"What?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. We're gonna be here a while, and it's gonna look suspicious if either one - or both of us - stays cooped up here too long when we're obviously tourists."

Naminé frowned. And here she was thinking of bringing her U.S. currency to a money changer to get enough cash to escape from this crazy man. She felt like knocking her head against the world - what made her think that this man was able to help her? He got her in this mess in the first place just to trap her and use her!

"Plus, we'll need to get you supplies. You can't do your work without it now, can you?"

A sigh escaped her lips. She would try another time, but for now, she would have to resort to making this...relationship...as professional as she could. "Okay," she said, giving in. "I'll just...be in my room."

She made a quick escape, and Riku felt himself chuckle as she briskly walked to her room and locked the door behind her. 'Does she really think I'm that kind of man?' he thought. 'But then again, lots of girls think that way.'

He looked at the brochure and a soft smile came to his lips, eyes twinkling at the illustration of the diamonds printed on the paper. The sparkling, colourless jewels always gave him so much delight and fascination. The thrill of stealing them was a bonus, too.

His eyes turned to the door once again, and a wish formed in his heart. He knew how much he needed Naminé to help him in his theft, but he couldn't find the reason which compelled him to present her with his most valuable possession - the watch - when her doubt blocked his path.

'I just hope she's taking good care of that watch.'

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

_A/n: Sorry for the slow update! Life's been hectic, as usual, and Tumblr is down so I'll be posting here first. Please review!_

_NOTICE: There's a poll at my profile, and I want to know which of my 'on hiatus' stories would you like to see me complete. Go ahead and vote, and thanks!_


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